Archive for July, 2009

Seems Matt wandered in on one of those crazy pod casts over at S-words.

Been rather occupied of late, but in my down time I have managed to play some Demon’s Souls. Now yeah, the NA version isn’t out till October, but I’ll be picking that version up too, if only to support Atlus bringing this kind of game over. I’m quite enjoying the game, despite many a curse slipping from my lips in it’s name.

The asynchronous multiplayer is fantastic. You can leave little, refrigerator, jumble style memo’s for other players in the world giving them hints or advice. You can also see the blood stains of the players who’ve fallen before you. Clicking these stains show you that player’s final moments. Combine these two features and you have some really interesting results.

Hmm… That player’s blood stain just showed him fall over dead for no reason in the middle of that bridge. Weird. Hey, a note! “It’s safe here.” huh? The hell does tha-
HOLY SHIT DRAGON ZOMG TORCH TORCH

Where the multiplayer fails, is in the er… synchronous multiplayer. That is to say, co-op. When you die in this game, you revert to a weak ghost form. In order to join some one else, you must be a ghost. In order to invite some one else, you must be alive. To be alive, you must use an item, or kill a non-respawning boss demon or, help another player defeat a boss. However, due to game mechanics, you should kill yourself as soon as you get your body back at the game’s hub so as not to screw up your stats. (Don’t ask). So this leaves me wondering…

This comic came about because my fortresses always seem to be loaded with enough food, alcohol, clothing, furniture and assorted luxury goods to last a hundred years, but I’ve always got an underclass of homeless dwarves with barely a penny to their name.

(Actually, regarding the comic, do non-legendary shop owners buy the stock they sell? I’m not sure.)

The new release seems to be coming along. I’m looking forward to being able to draft recruits into the military without my elite soldiers breaking their spines during sparring sessions.